Sammie Coates delivered a blistering attack over a lack of leadership within the Auburn football team on Tuesday, but his coach said the comments were simply born from frustration of a 1-4 start.

"We don't have leadership," said Coates. "Everybody talks about wanting to win, but nobody is showing how they want to win."

Linebacker Jake Holland said he doesn't see it that way.

"I have to disagree with Sammie on that," Holland said. "The leadership on this team has been the same since Day One, and the seniors are doing a good job of that. It's just about bringing the team together and just continuing to move toward that goal.

"I agree with the fact that things have got to change. Things have got to change in the fact that we've got to start winning, but I disagree with the fact of what he says about the leadership.

"You can't be weak-minded, you can't do that. In football, you have to have a short memory."

Offensive lineman Chad Slade said, "We have leadership out there. It's going to show more and more and more."

But Auburn will head to Ole Miss on Saturday with at least three players who have questioned the wherewithal of some of their teammates. Others say things aren't that bad.

"I have a good feeling most of the team is right on point," said coach Gene Chizik.

Coates has been the most outspoken of the lot, flatly saying, "we don't have leadership."

Senior defensive back T'Sharvan Bell and senior tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen questioned the resolve of some players Sunday, and said any player who isn't committed should simply leave. Slade said he considers Bell and Lutzenkirchen leaders.

Lutzenkirchen talked of a lack of leadership in the summer, saying the 2011 team lacked leadership. It was a topic again Tuesday.

Coates said the leadership covers the spectrum, including the quarterbacks.

"They talk, but they don't talk enough. They explain, but they don’t explain enough. They want us to be good, but they’ve got to show some leadership themselves," Coates said.

And of veterans, "Some of the older guys, they want it, but they don’t want it bad enough. The leadership has got to come from somebody.

“We’ve got a couple guys, like T-Bell, Lutz, but they’re kind of down themselves. It’s got to come from one of the young guys or one of the quarterbacks, somebody like that, because it takes one of those guys with a main role in the situation. That’s how I feel about it."

Chizik said he could understand the frustration of a slow team.

"The bottom line is when you’re in a situation that we’re in right now, where you’re not as successful as you’d like to be and you’re not as successful as you’ve been in the past, then you have frustrated feelings with some guys," Chizik said.

"I feel really, really good about the majority of our team being right on point. I have no issues with that. The message is very simple: You don’t practice and play and participate based on the circumstances. You’re one way all the time, and that means you’re always working towards improving and winning."

Chizik said everybody goes through tough times.

"Guys our age struggle with adversity going through the pits and the valleys with what happens in our own life. This is no different," Chizik said. "Let’s not make this into something that’s totally different. When things are going great, boy, it’s great. When things aren’t just the way we want it, everybody starts to try to figure it out. Let me make this real clear: There's definitely an urgency around here to win and improve, and I like seeing that. But part of our job to help our guys understand when you're in a valley, which is where we are now, everything isn't going to be at the peak, you have to find a way to persevere."